


Tell Them about It

by fadedmystery



Series: Tell Them about It [1]
Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Alex and Henry are ridiculous and everyone loves them, Engagement, Fluff and Humor, Telling the Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 09:10:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20672876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fadedmystery/pseuds/fadedmystery
Summary: The problem with getting engaged, Alex realizes about ten minutes after waking up and staring at a still-asleep Henry, the ring he’d been keeping in June’s room for months now in its rightful place, is that now they actually have to tell people about it.





	Tell Them about It

_The problem with getting engaged,_ Alex realizes about ten minutes after waking up and staring at a still-asleep Henry, the ring he’d been keeping in June’s room for months now in its rightful place, _is that now they actually have to tell people about it._

No, that isn’t entirely accurate. It isn’t getting engaged _per se_ that’s the problem, it’s the ring. The ring he’d seen online when he was looking for a Mother’s Day gift, a thin gold band whose engraving reminded Alex of the grooves of the key he always wore. The ring he’d begun to order on impulse, then promptly freaked out when the website asked for his personal and credit card information because _oh god_ what the hell was he doing? The ring he’d eventually begged Amy to buy and get resized, because there was no way he could do it himself (and he wasn’t slightly resentful about being deprived of that life experience, nope he really wasn’t). The ring that he’d freaked out even more about once the box was finally in his hands because he knew him and Henry were forever but what business did he have buying him a ring when he was still living through the hell that was 2L of law school and Henry was busy with his youth shelter that was finally off the ground and they’d only been living together for about a year and did Henry even want to get married and was marriage still the best institution to enter into when it was founded on so much patriarchal bullshit and—well. Needless to say, he’d stashed the ring with June, sworn her to secrecy, and decided he would wait until the right time, until he had a _plan_. 

(He did not wait until he had a plan. At least, unless you count a sleepily murmured, “Marry me?” as he nuzzled Henry’s neck after the other man had handed him a coffee mug, as a “plan.” In his defense, it was coffee and Henry: two of his weaknesses. Sue him.

Henry had gone very, very still, taken the coffee mug out of his hands, sat them down on the couch and asked, very calmly, if Alex was being serious. And through the sudden jolt of alertness, through the many what-the-fuck-Diaz-this-is-not-what’s-supposed-to-happen thoughts going through his head, somehow, Alex had managed to reply through the loud thrumming of his heart, “Yes.” 

And so Henry had beamed and said yes too. Alex will never forget how breathtaking Henry had looked just then.) 

Alex still hasn’t forgotten, even though that morning was almost _two months ago_. Since then, they’ve agreed that yes, they are actually engaged; no, they aren’t actually getting married right away because a literal wedding is a whole other level of crazy they can’t deal with right now; _no, Alex, we can’t elope because our families would kill us both and it’s probably bad form for the First Family of the United States and the Royal Family of England to be accused of murder._

Henry knows about the ring. But he’d assured Alex that there was no rush to have it brought over, and anyway, they had wanted to keep this between them, at least for a week. It wasn’t like they wanted to keep it a secret, but the media frenzy over them hadn’t died down yet (they had a running hashtag, for goodness' sake), so it had been nice to have some news that was just _theirs_ for a little while. 

But a week had turned into several, what with Alex busy with school and law review, and Henry flying back and forth from England, with barely any chance to see each other, let alone their families. And then Henry left New York for a week and Alex found himself in a haze of outlines and hardbound books and an empty space in their bed so he’d drunkenly asked June to have the ring sent back to him, to which June had obliged with the accompanying note, _“You’re a mess, but good luck.” _

Now Henry is back, the ring is where it’s supposed to be, and Alex couldn’t be happier. Except, now, they’re also due in D.C. today for a dinner event, and Alex has realized that it’s technically been two months since they’d gotten engaged and they haven’t told anyone yet, at least not properly. 

(Maybe they should just elope; their families are going to kill them anyway). 

\--------------

Henry, bless him, is incredibly reasonable about all of this. 

“It’s not like they’ll be upset we’re engaged,” he says reassuringly as the plane begins to taxi. “They’ll just be upset we didn’t tell them right away, that’s all.” 

And Alex knows that, he truly does. If he were a more logical, calm being, he’d agree. But he’s never been one for calm, not where Henry is concerned— what they have is too precious to be dealt with in any way other than full speed ahead, and there’s still that small, irrational, part of him, the same one he grappled with when he was thinking of what to do with his life, that’s scared of even the slightest hint of disapproval and disappointment from the people he loves when it comes to his life choices. 

(Also, Henry keeps fiddling with his tie. The man’s not fooling anyone.) 

“How do you think your family is going to react when we tell them next?” Alex wonders, and he can’t help but smirk a little when Henry stills and pales a little, the reality of it suddenly hitting him all at once. 

“Do you think your grandmother would object to a Westminster Abbey wedding?” Alex mused out loud with a grin. “Not that I’m completely sold on the idea because the thought of that much taxpayer money going into one event is enough to give me hives, but maybe it’d be worth suggesting just to see her reaction. Ooh, do you think we could have those cheesy figurine cake-toppers of both of us? And turkeys! They did play a part in our whirlwind romance after al—”

“Darling?” Henry is looking heavenward, as if saying, _why me? _“Please stop talking.”

Before Alex can wonder if he’d truly upset Henry, the other man pauses and turns to him a small smile on his lips. “The cake-topper idea sounds great though. As long as we’re dressed like Star Wars characters.”

Alex takes Henry’s hand, briefly kissing the ring that’s on there. Henry had said he could take it off until they told everyone properly, but Alex had been adamant. _“If you’re ready to tell them, then so I am I. Let’s do this.” _

“It’s going to be fine, right?” Alex asks, more to himself than to Henry. “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Henry laughs, leaning into Alex’s side. “Oh, I have no doubt it’s going to be a disaster. But I’m sure we’ll get through it alive.”

\--------------

Predictably enough, it is a disaster.

Granted, the disaster happens even before they get a chance to get a word in. It happens during the dinner: June slaps the son of the Spanish ambassador after he tries to grab her ass in the middle of the ballroom. The pictures and videos of it make the news in record time, and within minutes everyone is suddenly talking about it. The White House correspondents go nuts trying to cover the story— who cares about bilateral trade deals when there’s gossip to be spread? — and the night ends abruptly so everyone can do damage control. After making sure that June is okay, Alex and Henry sneak off to get some space from all the crazy. 

When they arrive back at the Residence, the right-wing news is already accusing June of bringing shame to the United States, Ellen Claremont is ranting about the possibility of cutting diplomatic ties with Spain and the right-wing fraction of the country, June looks pissed off yet satisfied at the same time, and Zahra is massaging her temples like the weight of the world is on her shoulders. His dad and Leo look proud. The tension in the air is thick, and Alex, of course, notices. Alex, of course, decides to do something about it. 

However, in retrospect, entering the room while holding hands and announcing, “Hi y’all, guess what? We’re engaged!” is probably not the best thing to do. 

The room stills, everyone turning to look at the pair. The two men flush under the sudden scrutiny, and it’s only then that Alex realizes that what he’d just done. “Heh,” he says, managing a weak grin while gripping Henry’s hand tighter. “Bad timing?”

A lot of things happen all at once. They’re engulfed in hugs and tears and shrieks from June and later, Nora, when she walks in on all the crazy. In that moment, Alex can finally feel himself breathe, the coil in his stomach loosening. _They’re happy. We’re happy._

“I can’t believe you finally asked!” June says, throwing an arm around Alex. “Is that where you went off to after the dinner?”

“Well, actually—”

“Hold on, did you really just live through the whole dinner drama and decide, ‘Yes, this is the absolute best time to ask my boyfriend to spend the rest of our lives together’?” Nora asked with a raised eyebrow. “Romantic. Nothing says ‘Marry Me?’ like seeing your sister defend herself from a handsy creep.”

Alex shrugged. “What can I say, it reminded me of Henry’s self-defense skills.” He snakes an arm around Henry’s waist and grins wickedly. “He’s really good at holding me down.”

Henry looks heavenward again. Somewhere in the room, Zahra groans.

“Okay we definitely did not need to know that, and now I have to figure out how to delete that from my brain,” Ellen says. She’s smiling, but her eyebrow is raised at them. “I’m happy for you both, don’t get me wrong. But tonight? Really?”

Henry begins, “Well—”

Ellen’s smile turns gentler. “Not that it matters, of course. Today, tomorrow, in ten years— you two decided you’d be stuck with each other a long time ago, so I guess this shouldn’t be so surprising.” 

“Can I just say that I am glad you two worked it out?” June said with a glint in her eyes that Alex does not like one bit. “I love you, baby bro, but pining over the whole ring thing was not a good look on you.”

“Pining, huh?” Henry quirks an eyebrow at Alex, which he really shouldn't find that attractive but who is he kidding here, really? “We’re having that conversation later,” Henry continues in a murmur. Alex is already thinking of other ways to occupy both their mouths.

Alex's mom is still smiling at them. “I’m so happy for you both,” Ellen continues. “Of course, you can’t get married right away since we have to figure out how this whole wedding thing is going to work, what with the whole First Son and Prince of England thing— there will be powerpoints in your future, I promise. But you boys deserve all this happiness.”

She pats Alex’s head fondly. “And true to form, you had to pick the one day when we’re already dealing with a PR shitstorm to make your announcement— not that I blame you, June, dear, that punk deserved it— but finally. Some good news.”

Alex can’t help it; he hugs his mom again. “Thanks mom,” he says quietly. With a grin, he turns to Henry and says, “I guess it was a good thing we waited two months to tell them, then, huh?”

(Never let it be said that Alex has excellent self-preservation skills.)

“...two months. Two. Months?” Alex’s mom throws up her hands and exchanges a look with his dad, as if to say, _why are these our children?_ “You’ve been engaged two months and you’re just telling us now?”

“TWO MONTHS?” June shrieked, poking Alex in the stomach. “You asked for the ring back just last week even though you bought it months ago! I thought you were just being chicken!”

Even Nora looks surprised. “Wait, you’ve had a ring for months and managed to propose while keeping the whole thing a secret, still going to law school, and not having a ‘Big Freakout Over Your Life Decisions’ every single day?“ Nora grins and pats him on the shoulder. “I’m impressed. You’re finally growing up, Diaz.”

“In our defense, it wasn’t really a secret,” Henry says. This time it’s him who wraps an arm around Alex’s waist. “We got busy and just sort of…forgot to tell people?”

(Zahra groans again. She looks like she wants to murder them both, but she’s smiling, which is a relief. And also terrifying.)

Leo laughs, shaking his head. “You two forgot? That’s…somehow slightly worrying but also very…how do the kids say it these days, June?”

“On-brand?” June offers. She and Nora practically drag Alex and Henry on the couch and demand details— _oh gosh not _those _details Alex, I meant the proposal,_— and Alex’s dad facepalms when he hears the story because, _“Come on, son, I thought you had better game than that. Coffee, really?”_

All the while, everyone is laughing and Zahra keeps waiving off any staffers asking how they’re going to deal with #Slapgate (wow, the internet works fast), and avoidance is probably not the best tactic but who wants to deal with that when everyone is so damn happy? Henry is bright red, but he’s a warm, solid presence by Alex’s side, and Alex feels like his heart may burst. It’s almost too much, but despite the overwhelming rush of emotion, he feels light and free, the way he did when he first realized this was love. 

Henry smiles at him, locking their fingers together, and all Alex can think of is what he’d said to Bea so long ago. _I love him on purpose._ He can’t wait for a lifetime of that.

A shrill ring of a cellphone goes off, and Alex sees Bea’s name flashing on Henry’s screen. Henry presses a button and says, “Hi Bea, you’re on speaker. We’re at—”

“Henry.” Bea’s voice sounds very, suspiciously calm, and it makes Alex straighten subconsciously. “Why are there photos of you at the dinner wearing a ring I’ve never seen you wear before?”

Alex and Henry look at each other. Well. _Shit._

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, "Red, White, & Royal Blue" currently has my whole heart so naturally I had to write fic about it. 
> 
> One of these days I will be able to go through my day like a proper adult without dissolving into a soft mess because of the lovestory of these two lovable idiots, but today is not that day.


End file.
